Think of us as your creative department – responsive, flexible, and part of your team. From quick turnarounds on design work and maintaining your web presence to strategic input on projects, we fit into your research centre or association and deliver like a trusted colleague.
Most research centres, professional associations and other small-medium sized teams don’t need a full-time designer, but they do need reliable creative support. Someone who understands their work, fits their culture, and delivers quickly without lengthy briefing or procurement processes.
That’s what we provide – embedded creative partnership. We work as an extension of your team, handling everything from a last-minute request for a smart diagram for a proposal to full project communications. No tendering, no external agency delays or internal frustrations with central services, just responsive support when you need it.
University research centres needing ongoing creative support without full-time staff
Professional associations managing communications across projects and events
International development organisations with varied creative needs
Think tanks and policy institutes producing reports, events, and communications
If you need creative support regularly but not full-time, and you value partnership over transaction, this works for you.
Diagrams, infographics, certificates, social media assets, presentation slides, quick graphics – the small things that need doing well and doing fast, working within your organisational brand guidelines.
Bid design, research reports, policy briefs, impact case studies – making your expertise look as professional as it is.
Visual identity for research projects, conference branding, event materials, branded templates and toolkits.
Flyers, posters, pull-up banners, promotional materials, branded documents – whatever your organisation needs to communicate effectively.
Regular updates, new content, maintenance, troubleshooting – keeping your web presence current without requiring technical expertise from your team.
Research centres can struggle with slow central services. Staff don’t have technical skills or time. Websites fall out of date, broken links accumulate, new projects don’t get added.
We can handle all of the content updates, technical fixes and review analytics to see what’s working.
From team photos and project documentation to recording videos and editing social clips – quality visual content when you need it.
Contributing to bid design from a visual and communications perspective, helping proposals look compelling and professional.
We’re comfortable with any aspect of digital, physical and online design and communications work.
We work on a regular day-rate basis (typically 2-4 days per month) with time tracked and invoiced monthly. When you need something - a document formatted, some social banners for an event, urgent website updates - you ask. We deliver.
No lengthy briefing documents. No tendering processes. No waiting weeks for external agencies. You send a quick email or Teams message, we turn it around - often same day for urgent requests, within days for larger projects.
We get to know your organisation, understand your work, use your brand guidelines and fit your culture. We'll use your preferred communications tools and can attend and present at team meetings as needed.
Some months you might use 2 days, others 5 days. We adapt to your actual needs rather than rigid contracts. Long-term partnerships work best, but we're flexible about how that looks in practice.
If you haven’t built your centre’s online presence yet, we have this handy guide to help you get started.
A practical guide to accessibility, privacy, and compliance for UK organisations.
Six articles taking you from digital foundations through to sustaining long-term presence. Covers planning your digital ecosystem, building brand toolkits, content strategy, visual storytelling, and maintaining momentum. Practical guidance for research centres without dedicated communications teams.
Research centre managers, communications coordinators, and anyone responsible for a research centre’s digital presence who wants systematic guidance rather than piecemeal tactics.
We currently work with research centres in education, international development, and professional development. Our longest partnership is over 15 years – embedded creative support that just works, month after month.
Day rate: £400
Typical monthly commitment: 2-4 days
Invoicing: Monthly, based on time tracked.
Minimum commitment: We’d love to trial a 2-3 month initial period to build a working relationship and show you the value we can add.
This gives you reliable creative support for less than a quarter of a full-time salary, without the overheads, HR complexity, office space, or equipment costs.
We understand your world.
We’ve spent over a decade working with research centres, universities, and professional associations. We speak your language, understand your constraints, and know what “good” looks like in your sector.
We elevate what you’re already doing.
Many organisations end up creating materials themselves – PowerPoint presentations that don’t quite look professional, Word documents with inconsistent formatting, social media graphics that feel amateur. You’re capable people doing your best with limited time and tools. We take that burden off your plate and deliver work that actually represents your expertise properly.
We work within your systems.
Got university brand guidelines? We work within them. Existing templates? We use and improve them. Approval processes? We navigate them efficiently.
We’re genuinely responsive.
Half an hour to turn around a quick diagram? Done. Same-day website update? No problem. Strategic input on a major bid? We’re there. You get the responsiveness of in-house support with external expertise.
We contribute strategically.
We’re not just executing what you ask for – we’re thinking about how to make it better, suggesting improvements, contributing ideas that strengthen your bids and communications.
Interested in ongoing creative partnership?
We typically start with a discovery conversation – understanding your organisation, current creative needs, how you work, what gaps exist. Then a 2-month trial partnership to see if we’re a good fit. We’ve worked with some organisations for over a decade – that’s the kind of relationship we build.
Frequently Asked Questions
We’re flexible. Some months you might use no time, others you might need 6 days. We adapt to actual needs rather than rigid monthly minimums.
For simple requests (diagrams, quick graphics, website updates), often same day or next day. Larger projects (document layouts, in-depth designs) we discuss timeline but aim for days not weeks.
We operate remotely and depending on your location we are open to occasional on-site meetings, especially if we can pair them with photography sessions, or project work.
Yes – sometimes partnerships start with one project (a conference, a major bid, a website refresh) and develop into ongoing support.
All work created for you is yours. We retain nothing. You own designs, files, and can use them however needed.
We review partnerships periodically. If your needs grow, we scale up. If they reduce, we scale down. Honest conversation keeps things working for both sides.